On 20th October, the leader and the deputy leader of Cheshire East Council wrote to the secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities Michael Gove, and minister of state for rail and HS2 Huw Merriman, asking for a “fair and equitable deal”.

•   Hilltop launches real estate funding and management platform
•   'Absolutely zero chance of building 300,000 homes' without use of category one modular says TopHat chairman
•   Avamore welcomes new director of credit

Although the government’s Network North report stated that the £19.8bn committed to the northern leg of HS2 would be reinvested in the North, Cheshire East Council is unhappy by the lack of mention of investment in Cheshire East or Crewe, despite what the council called

“the direct and devastating impacts the decision has had on the town’s future”. 

The compensation package being sought includes abortive council costs in relation to HS2 totalling £11.2m, investment in Crewe station, as well as local highway, public transport and active travel network improvements.

Sam Corcoran, leader of Cheshire East Council, said: “The full consequences facing Crewe and the borough following the decision to scrap Phases 2a and 2b of HS2 are unknown, and they may not be understood for several years, but the economic opportunity cost alone is unprecedented.”

The councillor claimed the decision to scrap all HS2 routes north of Birmingham and Manchester was impacting the confidence of investors and developers, and would result in the loss of 4,500 new homes and 5,000 new jobs for Crewe.

“We are therefore extremely let down by government’s failure to date to acknowledge or engage with us about the devastating impacts this will have on the town, the wider sub-region, and the financial security of the council in the proposed Network North,” he added.